CM9

When Jelly Bean was announced, it's as if you could hear the entire Android community speak in unison: CM10! Anyone who has been around the block a time or two knows, though, you just don't ask for ETAs on CM builds. Of course, it wouldn't really matter if you did at this point - the JB source code isn't even available yet. However, the CyanogenMod Team took the time to address many of the questions on everyone's minds on their G+ earlier today, and we have to admit - it all sounds pretty good.

The wait has been a long one, but it's finally starting to come to a close. The CM team has officially released several RC-level builds of CyanogenMod 9 for many high-profile devices, including the Galaxy Nexus (GSM), several Galaxy S II variants, and the Nexus S and Nexus S 4G.

For the complete list, head to the source link below. As always, make absolutely sure that you're downloading the correct ROM for your device, and if you have any reservations, ask in a forum before flashing, and always make a backup first.

CyanogenMod 9 may still be a ways out, lending some credence to the claim that upgrading from Gingerbread to ICS is a very long endeavor. However, if you're willing to live your life on the bleeding edge, and you own an international Galaxy S III variant, then the time is right for you: CM9 nightlies are now available for your device.

This is, of course, still an early build, so expect some bugs along the way.

Ever since unlocking the bootloader and rooting my Transformer Pad 300 (TF300), I've been patiently waiting for the Cyanogenmod team to release a build specifically for it. Since they already support the TF101 (original Transformer) and TF201 (Transformer Prime), I assumed it was only a matter of time before a build showed up for the TF300 - turns out I was right, as that build just hit the CM download site this morning.

A few days ago, T-Mobile's version of the Samsung Galaxy S II, codenamed "Hercules," received a hearty scoop of Ice Cream Sandwich. Today, the fun continues for owners of the device, as Team Douche just made available official CM9 nightlies.

Definition: A "nightly" is a cutting-edge release that is built on a daily basis, usually at night after a full day's worth of new code has been committed.

It could oftentimes be unstable and not properly tested, lacking any changelogs, but eventually evolving into alphas, betas, release candidates, and finally stable releases.

News started to trickle out this week about a new Android build called Linaro. Basically, it takes stock Android 4.0.4 and makes it super-fast, and super-awesome(er). In fact, it can boost performance by up to 100 percent over stock. Considering how fast and fluid stock Android 4.0.x already is (especially compared to older versions of the OS), that's quite impressive. Don't take my word for it, though, here's one of the main Linaro guys, Bernhard Rosenkranzer, showing it off on a TI Pandaboard.

It's amazing what a new look can do for a platform, isn't it? Back in January, we reported that CyanogenMod, the most popular third-party Android ROM, reached one million unique installs. Now, a little more than four months later, that number has doubled, according to CM's stat tracker. This is huge.

If you're the owner of an unlocked Galaxy Note who's been wondering how to make Samsung's first phablet even better, you're in luck – just a few days after receiving an official update to Ice Cream Sandwich, the unlocked Galaxy Note has been treated to its first official CyanogenMod9 nightly build. The CyanogenMod team, staying true to form, released the nightly build just earlier today to the CyanogenMod download page.

If you want to keep your unlocked Note up to date with cutting edge, Ice Cream Sandwich-powered code, or just want to keep an eye out for the latest nightly builds, head over to the download center here.